Automatic feeder for printing-presses.



J. LIGHT'BURNE. I AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1-911.

Patented June 13, 1916'.

- 3 SHEETSSHEET 1- WITH/58856;

Jase 0.13129 Z36 urne ATTORNEY 1. LIGHTBURNE.

AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR PRINTING PRESSES.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.3,19H. 1 1m Patented June 13, 1916.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- J. LIGHTBURNE.

AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR PRINTING PRESSES. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 3, 1911.

1,187 %35, PatentedJune 13, 1916.

s SHEEYTSSHEET 3.

J V I 2 a WITNESSES: w I M/I/EIVTOH ncctions, the driving shaft Josnrn nrsn'rnnnsin; or PORTLAND, OREGON.

Aororm'mo rnnnnn ronrRmTINo-PnnssEs.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH Bro rimming} v,

.- sore chamber. o f iny attachment, as will be expla ned below; Fig. 9 iso sectional detail,

a citizen of the United States,- andorcsident of Portland, county of 1s a specification.

the means tor-feeding shcetsflof paper,for.

other material, to sprmtingpress The object of my invention 1s toprovlde printing'prcsscs of the I My invention further has for its object to use pneumatic moons for accomplishing my purpose, also to make she done of as simple a type and; also ith-as few motions as possible, at the some time assur ing cliicienc v, so as to accurately time the feeding of the press. v

The means by which i accomplish these results, and the incidental features of my invention are hereinafter fully described.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a rear elevation, in perspective, of the rightsidc oio. platen press embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a front end perspective view of part of the feeding mechanism of my attachment; Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic longitudinal vertical scction taken approximately on the line poin'tcd by the arrow in Fig. 2; Figs. 4 and 5 are. partial detail views showing the motion transmitting devices of my attachment; Fig. 6 is a glingrnn'l'mzitic elevation oft-he right side of my oitzichment, particularly showing the penunmtic and elcctriczil conof the press beseen, but the cam-gem and moshing pinion on the driving sluiit being omitted; Fig. 7 is a detail of? construction of one of the arms of the traveling carrier of my attachment, hereinafter fully described; Fig. 8 is a diagrammatic longitudinal ssction similar in that shown in Fig. .6, cxcept that the pa" shown arc vimved from the opposit-c (if... this ilgui'c illustrates the operation of the feeding; ilcvicc of my attachment,

' 'iind also shows Multnoinah, and, ,Stot'c of Oregon, have invented a. newsndr uscfiil Improvement insAutomctic Feeders. for Printing'Presses, of which thefolicwing j I I 1 f an sm'of my attachment,

Mv invention relates to improvements of. f

platen type with fil Q 1 y d'vice.

roved automatic means for riodicail P devices by which. the removing and placing of the sheet is ,tioned, the omitted. It! style of press referred to the plateng is caused to remain in Figs. 1 and 6;

Y) for the tongues .scn inc'ciengc,

s i e r n sciences June 13, mm. Application filed August 3,

valve for; control-ling the outlet of the preslnpersqectivefof the casing of the vacuum pick-o of my-deviceyFigrlois 'a perspectivc'elevction ofthe chute-like feeding mechalso illustrating the operation j ofthc' tiltable stop by which the sheet is held; on the, platen of the press while being printed; and, Fig. 1-1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating one of the operations The press illustrated in the drawings-represents that-class f in which theplatcn and p 4 carrying the typebcth have movement.

The" press opcrating mechonismis not shown, excepting such parts as are necessary to the "under standing of mynevlce. The gear 0 is to be understood. as representing the cam-gear of the icam. .movement of thekind or press referred to. The cam-gearcg is'driven by the pinion m, which is understood to be on the driving shaft, in Fig. 6; in the latter, however, as meninion w and cam-gear cgcrc will be remembered that in the operativelfconnccted with the connectingjmeuns including a p at c gb,' and by the removal of the latter,

at rest durmg the operation of the press, While the baclcframe does the printing Work. This release of the platen is necessary to the operation of my device, as will become apparent.

Mysttachmcnt consists of a frame, a, comprising legs a supporting an inclined top 6, the frame being adapted to be set over a press of the class mentioned, as illustrated the frame of the press being indicated by the letter .9. top, 6, is formed with longitudinal slots Z), on the bottom of the carriers 0, c, traveling on the top b and supporting the stacks of papers, 2. The carriers are supported by the arms 0 the lower ends of vliicli extend into the longitudinal slots 71, 6' and are formed With perfornted knuckles to receive the worm-screws (Z, d. Said lower ends are preferably made with releasable jaws c :11, c :0, as shown in Whichis only seen at do the cam-gcarcg latcn g the;

. olt inserted I The inclined Worm-screws at'any convenient point.

At the front edge of the inclined top biis supported a guide-way 2, serving to feed the "removed sheets of the stack to the printing mechanism,

shown. The guideway, e, as represented,

of which the platen alone is shows a chute-like structure comprising a front '6', a back e and sides 6 From the front wall 6' may be suspended a bar or bars as e (compare Figs. '1- and 10) for guiding the sheet dropped into guide-way platen y, the bars 6*, placed at the sides, being made with shields as 6 A vacuum chamber, or What I will term a pick-oii' f, is supported on arms f, which are pivotally mounted on a rod f held rigidly by members. f attached to the front pair of legs a. The vacuum pick-ofl is moved by a rod if'attached to a crank 9* (see Figs. 1 and 4) and said vacuuin-pick-oli is provided with apertures f through which the air is sucked some suitable type of fan, indicated by the other views. The fan is connected to the vacuum pick-cit by a tube it, and it is operatively connected. in any convenient manner (not shown) with the driving mechanism of the press. A. stationary pressure chamber g is located at the front end of the top 6' and is also connected by a tube 2' to the fan j. Said pressure chamber 9 is provided with a longitudinal outlet 11 through which the air is forced by the fan j. In order to reduce the marginal surface of the aperture f and correspondingly reduce the contact between the sheet picked-off the stack, by my described pneumatic means, and such marginal surface, I prefer to make-the latter with a boss, as shown at f in Fig. 9.

In Fig. 11 is diagrammatically illustrated how the initial contact of my vacuum pickofi causes'the bottom edge of the outer sheet of the stack of paper to be slightly curled away from the underlying sheet of the stack,

and in so doing giving thcfair access to the underside of said outer she t.

The lower end-of the gqide-way, e, rests on the platen y of the printing press of which the frame is represented by s, as mentioned. In order to propin'ly support the sheet on the platen 3 in position for receiving the impression, a clcat-like tiltable stop It is provided (see l, 6 and 10) pivoted at k and provided with a pendent arm m, the extremity m of which is adapted to con stitutc an armature for theelectromagnet m when the latter is energized by being thrown in circuit through circuit wires n, n", with the battery n. The battery and Wire connections are not shown'in Fig. l. The making and breaking is accomplished. by the rotation 01 the timer Z rigidly mounted .on the axle 0 (see Figs. 1, r

to the rigid on the shaft of the pinion j in Fig. 6, but omitted irom of the electriccircuit 4 and 6);v Said timer Z consists of a revolv-' ing wooden disk on Which is peripherally fastened aplate of copper l, for establishing a period electric connection between the terminals of the circuit wires n, n, which are shown diagrammatically in Figs. 4 and 6, it being understood that in actual practice they would be led along some convenient part of the frame and not be exposed to View.

My attachment-is connected with the pinions of the press mechanism by the shaft 0:, and the gears 00 m, a and arias more clearly shown in Fig. 6; the gear 00 being shaft 0 is journaled in the brackets p and p attached to the frame a, and on said shaft 0 are the crank r, the release timer Z, and the gears 4 and 6. The shaft 1 is jour-' naled in the projecting arms p of the brackets 39, vi-and in the brackets 39 and 79", see Figs. 1 and 4;

the gears 5 and 7, mounted on a movablmsleeve 3, longitudie nally adjustable on the, shaft 9, but secured inv place by means of the set-screw 3.

On the shaft 9 are mounted friction drive and said shaft 9 is driven at variable speed by wheels 8 and 9 (seelFig. 4) whichareadjustable longitudinally by means of the setscrews 8 and 9. Said friction drive Wheels 8 and 9 bear respectively on :the friction disks 1.0 and 11, rigidly mounted on the worm-screws (Z, cl; and thus the rotation of these worm-screws a, d moves the carriers 0, 0 forward. By making the friction drivewheels 8 and 9 adjustable the worm-screws (Z, (2 may be made to rotate wit-h difi'erent speeds, so that cards of different thicknesses (as shown at z, z in Fig. l) may be printed at the same cards or papers are arranged in a single stack against both carriers 0, 0, as in Fig. 2,

time; and when the.

then the devices are adjusted to cause. the

carriers to travel at the same speed.

Each of the carriers 0, c, is preferably provided with a pair of spring-controlled threaded jaws c a, normally engaging the wormscrew d or d'. Said jaws (see Fig.- 7)

are soarranged that pressure on their ends will open them, allowing the arms 0 and consequently the carriers, to be released from and moved longitudinally along the worm-screw d or d tion. By reason ofstacking my sheets in approximately vertical position, my attachment is especially adapted for use in printupper ing envelops. The vertical position of the sheets gives me the advantage of gravity in the-operation of my attachment, and eliminates carrier devices. In order to prevent any lateral displacement of the outer-most sheets of the stack, laterally disposed guiderods, as shown at a in Fig. 2-, may be pro.-

to any convenient po'si-,-

stack.

' In operet'ion, the stack of cards or paper,

a, to be printed is placed on the framelop Z), against the carriers 0, c. It is moved toward 'the guide-Wary, e, by the Wormscrews (Z, {Vim the rate of one sheet for each lmplfihliifi of the press. The top sheet, 5?,{("see;lligs; and 8) is drawn by suction against thevacuum picleoif f, and during the outward movement of the latter, due to 113 the llfflc klllg of the arms 7 by the rod 1% and cranks, she-sheet of paper 2 so picked up -jis carried oiit iva d, as shown in Fig. 8. it

, is released from itscontact with the pickofi f by impact with thestationary rod o is l asteued' to'tlie back 6 of the-guide-Way e.

- As soon as it is detached from the pick-oil 7,

is is sucked through the latter and thence through the tube 72, by the fan j, with which i the tube 75 connects, and the air is then \foroed up through the tube from the fan j into the chamber g, and out through the opening 9, as shown by the arrows in Fig.

8. This current of air prevents the sheet 2 from falling back against the remaining sheets e and hence the sheet 2 drops by gravity through the guideway e on the platen 7 into the position shown in Fig. 6.

- lit is held on the platen 2 While the imvpi'ession is being made, by being supported soon the tiltable stop isfas mentioned. The

devices are so timed that after the impression .hasbeeh taken the. electric circuit is closed, causing-the magnet m to attract arm m of the tiltable' stop 70 and rock the latter,

and drop the sheet of paper into a suitable box w. V

In Fig. 8 is shown a slide valve u, at-

tached by a link u tothe arm '7" supporting the vacuumpick-ofi' f. This slide valve is 40 opened by the outward movement of the vacuum. pick-off, but prevents any air from escaping from the tube 'i'thi'oughtheoutlet 9 of thelpressurechambei' 9', during the initial contact of the vacuum pick-oil with the outer sheet of thestack; as illustrated f in Fig. The blowing of an air current throhgh the compression chamber behind the sheet seized by the vacuum piok ofi" also assists in separating 'said sheet from the I l. The combination. with e printing press of the character stated, of an automatic feeding attachment comprising a table top suppcrtedover the pressya carrier adapted for a f supporting vertically stacked sheets, said carrier being movable over the table top; means for moving the carrier progressively over the table; pneumatic means for picking w oil, b suction the outer of said stack oft sheets; a. gravity guide-way for guiding the picked oil sheet to theplaten of the; pres a bar arranged to have impact with said picked 0d sheet end releaseit from said d5 pneumatic liolding inclzisfivhen alined with said guidecvay; means for blowing a stream; of air behind the picked oii' sheet; and means for driving all the described operating devices synchronously with the d iving mechanism of the printing press.

'jjlie combination Wit-l1 a, printing press of the character stated, of an automatic feeding attachment comprising a table top supported over the press; a carrier adapted for supporting vertically stacked sheets said carrier being movable oven the table top; means for moving the carrier progressively over the table; pne uniatic means for picking oil by suction, the outer of said stack-of sheeis; a gravity guideway for guiding the picked oil sheet t the platen of the pressg. a tiltzihlc restadcpted for supporting the sheet dropped on the guide-Way on the platen of the press-in position for being imprinted; means for blowing a stream of air behind the picked off sheet; and means for driving all the described operating devices synchronously with the driving mechanism of the printing press; I

The combiiuition "with a printing press of the character statcd, of an automatic feeding attachment comprising a. table top sup. poi'ted over the press; a carrier adapted for supporting vertically stacked sheets, said carrier being movable over the table top; menus for moving the carrier progi'essively' over the table; pneumatic means for picking oil', by suction, the outer of said stack of sheets; a gravity guide-Way foi guidingthe picked oil sheet to the platen of the'press; a tiltable adapted for supporting the sheet dropped ontlie guide-Way on the pla ten of the press in position for being imprinted; means for automatically releasing the sheet from the platen of the press; means for blowing a stream of air behind the picked oil sheet; and means for driving all the described operating devices synchronously With the cl'i-iviiigmechanism of the printing press.

l/ii feeding attachment for a Printing press of the character stated comprising; a frame incliulinga table top; a carrier slidably mounted on the latter adapted for sup; posting ve ically stacked sheets; means for moving the carrier progressively; vacuum pick-oft consisting of a chambered, spec "tux-ed bar and a pivoting support-therefor adapted to impinge the bar against thebothorn of the sheets stacked 'upon the carrier; a gi'svity guide way adaptedfozj" guiding the sheeb picked oil the stacliunto the platen of the press; means for releisiiig' the picked 0d sheet from saic. pneumatic holding means when elined with said guide-Way; an apertured'conipressicn chamber adapted. to eject asstrem of air behind thesheet picked ed the stack; a fan element, air'ducts comieetmg the latter with the chamber of tl'1e'vacuuni piclcoii' and. the compression chamber; a

valve in the air duct of the compression chamber operated to shut off the stream of air ejected from the latter until the vacuum pick-ofi has engaged the outer sheet of the 5 stack; and means for driving all the described operating with the driving mechanismof the printing press. i

5. A feeding attachment fora printing press of the character stated comprising a frame including a table top; a carrier slidably mounted on the latter adapted for supporting vertically stacked sheets; means for moving the carrier progressively at variable speed; a vacuum pick off consisting of a chambered, apertured bar and a pivoting support therefor adapted to impinge the bar against the bottom of the sheets-stacked upon the carrier; a gravity guide-way adapt- 20 ed for guiding the sheet picked off the stack devices synchronously unto the platen of the press; 111eans'e" "{i =eleasing said picked ofi' sheet from said piiu- Inatic holding means guideway; a tiltable rest adapted is porting the sheet dropped on the guid on the platen of the press in position for.

mg imprinted; means for automatically tilt mentioned means inwhen alined with said with the driving'niechamsm of the printing press.

v JOSEPI'I LIGHTBURNE.

Witnesses-z PRESTON CAMPBELL, CE IL LONG. 

